Friday, July 27, 2007

I Hate My Memory Foam Mattress

A few weeks ago, we finally bit the bullet and got rid of our much-too-old mattress, replacing it with a brand new 'memory foam' mattress - hyped to the eyeballs, Nasa technology and all that.If you google 'memory foam' in an effort to research your purchase beforehand you will find lots of positive comments, most of them put there by the manufacturers. In the interests of fairness, I have to report that my husband loves it. He lies very still, and he has arthritis. He thinks it is wonderful. I, on the other hand, toss and turn. And I cannot tell you how much I hate, loathe and detest it. It is like sleeping on warm quicksand. It sucks you in. It moulds itself to your body, right enough, but when you move, or try to turn over (difficult, on this awful stuff) you find residual lumps and bumps in your new position. It is incredibly hot. And it stinks. In fact this disgusting smell was seemingly why Nasa didn't use it on the space shuttle for which it was originally intended. They tell me the stench fades with time, but two weeks have gone by, and in spite of frequent airings, it's still there. Fly tipping is beginning to seem like an attractive option, but hey, this ghastly thing cost a lot of money. This wasn't the cheapo option. If you are considering one of these, try before you buy, and I don't mean a three minute 'test' in the shop. You have been warned.

68 comments:

It is improving a bit, very slowly, or at least I'm getting used to it, but would never buy another one. Can't tell you how many people have told me the same thing, too late! In despair I bought two hypo allergenic Scandinavian mixed duck and goosefeather pillows (in TK Maxx, where else?) and now I am having a better night's sleep, solely because the pillows are so wonderful. Those I can recommend, even for hayfever and asthma sufferers like me! Bliss!

My girlfriend has a memory foam mattress pad and I cannot begin to tell you how much I agree with your post. I hate that thing with a passion! When you share it with someone else, inevitably you both fall into the middle of the bed and find yourself sleeping on a 45º angle.

Too funny!! And yes, there remains the google ad for memory foam right above your rant, er... absolutely correct assessment, perhaps a taunt ;) Whatever the case, we have a memory foam mattress that seems to remember our sleeping positions for the past 4 years! It's so soft and uncomfortable, I'm right now in search of a rock hard mattress topper - I figure they might balance each other. We'll see....

I'm so glad I'm not alone. A few years ago a friend recommended these godawful things to me and fortunately I had the opportunity to stay in a hotel with one and decided I didn't like them before I took the plunge. Unfortunately I have now started seeing a guy who has one and I've never had such a terrible nights sleep in my life. Each time I stay at his place I feel like I haven't had any sleep at all and it's for all the wrong reasons!

"Sleeping on warm quicksand" -- you have absolutely captured the horrid feeling that I've been struggling to describe since we put a simple memory foam mattress topper on our bed. It was a gift from a relative too boot, so it's going to be tricky to get rid of it (note to self - don't ever give such a personal gift). The stench is truly unbelievable, and given that it's winter with snow outside and random rain/sleet/snow, we'll have trouble giving it a proper outdoor airing (indoor airing has not done much). I'm hoping to spill something on it that will cause mold and necessitate permanent removal from the premises...

The foam body contouring cuts off all the circulation in my arms and legs and I constantly wake up and unable to feel or move my limbs. If you think its hard to roll out of the mattress in general, try doing it when you cant feel your arms or legs.

Absolutely agree with you. I don't sleep on if now if I can help it - sleep in son's bed when he isn't at home. Couldn't go without sleep any longer - although I persevered for more than a year. Also, think husband's massive flareup of arthritis had a lot to do with memory foam, although he won't believe it! But it stops you from moving. They have done a great job of marketing this horrible stuff, but I suspect, worldwide, it is making a lot of people ill.

I bought into the hype too. We bought a $2,000 mattress 1 year ago and it is unbearable to sleep on. We thought about replacing it with a memory foam mattress, but decided ona memory foam topper. The topper made the bed even worse. Its ok if you're sleeping alone, but forget it if you have a partner. It's super hot, and both of you will end up in the middle , sleeping at an angle. I don't about it cradeling your body, I think it creats a divit to where your body sinks in, but if you sleep on your back like I do, it causes your shoulders to sit higher, causing your back and neck to get out of whack. I thnk we'll try a bed that adjusts on both sides. Don't waste your money on memory foam, you'll regret it!

I've a memory foam mattress too, and I absolutely hate the thing. I spent a fortune on it, so I'm finding it hard to get rid of it. I've been sleeping on it about a year now, and I can say without a shadow of a doubt it was the worst money I ever spent!I'm now considering buying an ordinary mattress, but my problem is that the base is also sprung (a special thing for the memory foam) so I don't know if I can just replace the mattress.They are the worst night's sleep you'll ever have. At the moment we have a lump in the middle of the mattress that has formed between where we both sleep. I can barely turn over in it at night, and using a pillow has become impossible. It's not great as I've to get up to a baby several times a night, and getting outta the bed is so hard.Note to anyone buying one - they ain't worth it!!

I am so glad to hear others hate their memory foam bed too! My husband looks at me like I'm crazy when I tell him I hate it! My arms and legs fall asleep; I can't use or not use a pillow! I'm so exhausted and it's from the stupid bed! Oh, and my husband's allergies also flared big time when we got it; no wonder---the stench of that bed! It took a few months to air out! I sleep in it only because I have no other bed to sleep on...but I'm considering the floor!

I too hate this bed. My whole body hurts all the time. Cannot turn in it. when I do get to my side, it cuts the circulation from my hip to my toes. My shoulders hurt. Every muscle in my body hurts as if I have owred out all night. Smell is horrible. I cannot wait to get a regular mattress. This thing has got to go asap. I am tiered of fighting for a nights sleep.

Oh what a relief to see there are others! UGH! I never thought this stuff would catch on when I first saw them come out. But I guess if a store makes a big enough profit they will do what it takes to convince people they want it.

My daughter has the "old" type of foam, its 3" thick and has just a simple square pattern across it cut half way through the foam...most comfortable thing I have EVER slept on. But I have searched for a year and all I can find is either this rediculous memory foam or egg crate thin stuff.

Funny too, I remember when I bought her 3" plain old simple foam...it was $19.99...it was just before every store in the nation switched to this stupid memory foam. Who wants foam that just sucks them in to a position so they can't move? And then pay 10 times the cost of a nice soft springy foam!!!

What happened to the original foam toppers? Anyone know of a store that still carries it?

I cringe every time I hear an ad for the miracle of miracles "memory foam"... I deride that stuff every chance I can...because it is terrible!! Maybe for special cases it works, but why oh why would you want to sleep on something that REMEMBERS every time you have laid on it? How is an impression of your body getting deeper and deeper into the foam comfortable?? IT ISN'T!! My wife and I had a top of the line 12" thick memory foam mattress, it was ok at first, then quick;y became a struggle to roll over etc. Eventually it was like we were sleeping in coffins having to look over the center hump to see each other...I hate memory foam with a passion.

We bought our "eco-friendly green tea memory foam mattress" 7 months ago, At first I loved it, but after only a month (about the time it was finally 'broke-in') I started to really dislike it. In all fairness I have to say My husband loves it, and his back must be better b/c he's not complaining as much about it (he has degenerative disc disease)And I do like it for my shoulder that I had surgery on, but for my back? I hate the thing! My butt and hips sink in far to deep, and I end up sleeping with my back over-arched. And rolling over? lol more like rolling up, or climbing out. But what do I do now? $1500 out the window, besides my hubby loves it, and there's no spare bedroom till one of my kids grows up and leaves..

Amazing just how many people feel the same as we do. Our son did grow up and leave, and I spend a lot of nights in his room now, sleeping soundly and comfortably. He was home last weekend, and I was back to the memory foam for a few nights - hip now really sore again!

My wife and I purchased a 12" thick memory foam mattress about two weeks ago (our king size conventional spring mattress was about 15 yrs old). WE BOTH HATE IT!!!

I agree with all of the negative comments here. I have a history of a bad lower back and this thing sucks for a bad back. The original comments are so apropo - "sleeping on warm quicksand" is excellent. Also, if you try to read or watch tv in bed where you are trying to prop your head up an indentation is created wherever your bodies pressure point is the greatest, as you try to sit up. The bed works AGAINST you trying to situp and it makes my lower back ache. I have also experienced the numbness, as reported by a few here, and I was wondering if this too could possible be this bed.

I agree, we have had 1 mattress complete memory foam and now a air bed with a 4" topper. Both cases, the foam becomes weak in the area you use. This creates a hole. And in my case I sleep near the edge and I feel the bed wants to roll me off. I have cut the 4" pad in half, this helped for some time but now back to the same. Next I am thinking of cutting it into squares so I can move and turn them in unworn areas.

Wow, I found your blog because I just bought a memory foam topper and HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT! I had bought a pillowtop mattress that was too firm so had to get a topper. Read a ton of reviews (all positive of course) about how marvelous this stuff is. Luckily, I had a gift promotion card through Amazon and only paid $36.00 for it, otherwise, I'd be really pissed off.

I left a bad review for it at Amazon.com because I want everyone to know just how awful this stuff really is. I can't understand how anyone could like it or use it. As you say, maybe certain circumstances, but it is just like quicksand. I have hip and back problems and yes, the topper works against my body. I struggle to sit up in it, get out of it, roll over on it. ARGH! Mine is two inches thick and I'm thinking of performing surgery on it to remove a layer and maybe destroy its sucking effect somewhat. I've always used good old egg crate foam and while it isn't luxurious, it does work predictably and economically. I'm back to that asap. I am DONE with all the "new" technology in mattresses. My pillow top is a disaster....luckily got it on sale and bought a firm, not squishy mess, so I at least was smart and didn't blow a lot of cash on this stuff. But I still haven't had a decent night's sleep YET since purchase of mattress or topper. Unless you are rich as the Hiltons and can actually afford to recreate your favorite hotel sleep experience by purchasing directly from professional hotel outlets that will assure you a replica of what you slept on during your last vacation, stay away from experimenting with foam and such....it does NOT WORK and is AWFULLLLLLL!

I am so glad to find this blog. We have had a memory foam since last summer. I hate it. I didn't realize how bad I felt until I slept on our old regular bed in the guest room last week when I was sick. Even while sick I slept so much better. Didn't wake up as often and didn't hurt. I went back with my husband and can't sleep. I hate it. We are both goint to try our regular pillow top tonight to see if it makes a difference. If it is better not sure what to do with the memory foam. So glad to know I am not alone.

Of all my blog posts, this one has probably had the most comments. I just wish some official medical body would do the research! My husband won't be convinced, but I actually date the time when his arthritis flared up and became crippling from the time when we acquired this horrible horrible mattress - and I know that if I was still sleeping on it regularly, I would have gone the same way. When I'm on it for any length of time, I wake up aching all over.

I totally agree with your comments. We bought ours last June. It took a while to get used to it as it is very different than a regular mattress. It seemed to get better of course after the 90 day warranty passed, but after that I started waking up so stiff that I could barely move. Thank the Lord we saved our old awful mattress that we have had for over 15 years. My husband is tolerating it better than I but often wakes up not well rested. I on the other hand have given up sleeping on it. Has anyone got any tips on what to do now. This thing was terribly expensive and I just want to throw it in the trash heap.

How I wish I had found this blog last year when we bought two beds with memory foam mattresses - what a disaster! so hot, very uncomfortable, these beds have now been abandoned and we are back to sleeping in our old comfortable beds - terrible waste of money, never again.

After 25 years of intense suffering with back pain on a firm mattress, my husband suggested we 'try out' a 3" memory foam topper to see if that might help. From that day on my life changed. I now scream obsenities into my head in fury at this stupid thing, I dream of destroying it and should the day come that my good husband dies before me, I will be dragging it off our bed and into the back yard to burn it before I call the undertaker.

I thought I was going through the change with night sweats but whenever I sleep anywhere else I sleep quietly and free from sweat. What a nasty piece of work this stuff is!

As for your husband's arthritis flare-up - think petroleum allergy!We had a memory foam topper on our bed for only 2 nights - it caused all my joints to flare so badly, I could barely walk! (And I don't even have arthritis!) I have been allergic to petroleum products for over 20 years - it is the base of many products! After 2 nights, my husband removed it from our bed, but it wasn't until he got it completely out of our bedroom that I could get over all the symptoms! Horrible off-gassing! It's not that no one wants to do the research - there are other people squelching the information!

I just spent my 4th night on a Sealy Optimum Memory Foam mattress and I HATE IT. I swear it feels like I am sleeping on a brick. We have 120 days to change our minds and we can exchange it and I'm pretty confident that sucker will be going back in the next couple of weeks. Aside from being totally uncomfortable to sleep on, it's just not an inviting mattress. Like... I no longer want to curl up in my bed with a book or if I don't feel good because my bed in not cozy. The people at the store said it would take a few weeks to get used to the different feel of a foam mattress but I don't think it's going to get any better. I've had a headache for 2 days and I wake up hurting all over my body. I know there are people who love these things but I absolutely hate it. It's got to go.

I'd send it back - it doesn't get any better, honestly! You could try a memory foam topper on a proper sprung mattress. I always wish that's what we'd gone for. I've slept on them in hotels and been very comfortable.

When my partner and I began a three week road trip recently, we left at home an unresolved issue of our recently purchased memory foam mattress. She loves it; I hate it, blaming it for a sudden onset of back pain and achey limbs. During the trip, I slept great. My best night's sleep was on a 1 inch Thermolite inflatable pad (we camped several times), awakening each morning refreshed and pain free. Now that we're home, the pain has returned, and Ive taken to sleeping on the pad on the living room floor. Simply put, I believe those MF mattresses are terrible. Sure, it may mold itself to my body, but, being a big man, that's not what I need. I need support. Can't wait till the nephews go home; I can then reclaim the hard bed in the guestroom.

We have a kingsize bed with the very expensive memory foam top... worst purchase ever! I can tell you that after 3 years, it gets worse. It's like sleeping in a farmers field on a hot summers night. Hot and lumpy! We have two permanent body ditches on each side of the bed with a 3" speed bump that runs down the middle separating my wife and I... We are finaling get rid of this thing. We haven't had a nights sleep in years. I think our mattress has alzheimer's.. it never returns to the original shape, even after a two week holiday.

Yes, ours does the same. I feel your pain! I sleep in the spare bed (ordinary sprung mattress) mostly but I blame the memory foam for making my husband's arthritis ten times worse. He doesn't believe it, but I'm convinced it's true.

Yup...absolutely right. We have one of those memory foam pads. Itchy. Hot. Feel like you have to get up to roll over. I can take about six hours if it and then MUST get up.

I actually like sleeping on the carpeted floor if I have a big enough pillow. I occasionally work nights and DW needs the bedroom for changing baby and household chores, so I gladly sleep on the floor in my office and wake up more refreshed after three hours than 6 in the other.

I thought I was going crazy until I just read the other posts.. a month ago I spent $3k for a MF mattress and box spring. It is hot!! It is difficult to turn over in. The comments about the lack of back support are true - there is none. The store will not let me return or exchange it - and I wake up every morning hurting. I think I have to just bite the bullet and trash it. Sigh... learn from my mistake.

We are in the process of ditching our memory foam mattress, after about 4-5 years of serious discomfort. If I sleep on it more than 6 hours my back starts killing me.

And yeah, the heat was ridiculous, and I think contributed to the breakdown of the foam cells. About 50% of the heat was alleviated by eucalyptus-based fiber mattress cover from Protect-a-Bed. It's made the mattress more tolerable, temperature wise.

I hate our memory foam matress- I get such horrible backaches, it feels like someone was beating me with a baseball bat. My husband loves it and thinks I'm nuts. I've been sleeping on the couch for two years now. I actually dread when company comes to stay over cause they get the couch and I have to go back n the bedroom and sleep on the memory foam bed of torture!

We got a Tempurpedic memory foam mattress a few years back and returned it after two days. It was terrible. Hard, then hot and soft. And smelled awful! We threw it in the pickup and dropped it back at the store and wouldn't take no for an answer. Good luck with yours!

Just got home from a 3 week vacation sleeping on beds in 3 different hotels. The last one was a heavenly pillowtop. On the flight home, we both said how good it will be to sleep in our own bed again. What a laugh. We have a 10 year old bed that we added a 3" memory foam topper to last year. I guess I was brainwashed into thinking I was enjoying my sleeps. After enjoying sleeping in a conventional pillowtop at the last hotel, I think I will throw my memory foam and mattress in the garbage. When I jumped into bed last night, it felt like concrete. Now I am looking for beds on the internet and most everything contains memory foam. A prime example of how people get sucked into marketing....

You have my sympathies. We still haven't managed to replace the horrible memory foam and it just gets worse and worse every year. But this year, it is going, even if I have to go into debt to replace it!

We purchased an IKEA "Myrbacka Firm" memory foam mattress from the IKEA store in Costa Mesa, CA, and drove it 250 miles to our home in Las Vegas, NV. We did not know too much about memory foam, and trying it out in the store for a few minutes did not reveal its horrible properties. Once you lay on it after a while it feels like warm quicksand. Used it for two nights and could only sleep after taking sleeping pills. Woke up with bad pain and could not function during the day. Fortunately I had not tossed out my old spring mattress. Tomorrow I will drive back to Costa Mesa to return this torture machine. Stay away from the memory foam fad.

We replaced the hideous memory foam earlier this year with a lovely, deep, quite firm pocket sprung mattress, with a soft topper (NOT a memory foam topper, but some natural cotton fibres.) Best thing we ever did. Husband is OK with it as well - Lovely. We gave the memory foam away as a spare bed for somebody. Personally speaking, I would have put it in a skip!

IKEA gave us a full mm unconditional refund to our credit card, not just store credit, as seems to be the usual policy. Not sure why they did this, but, of course, we were happy. We are back to our old spring mattress and have decided to keep it for another year or so.

Catherine, Glad to hear you got rid of it as well. Had it not been for your blog, I likely would have listened to all the people in the family who advised me one must get used to the feel of memory foam over time.

I wish I had read this blog before I made the huge mistake of buying a 4" memory foam topper for my old mattress. I was trying to extend the life of it, although it was sagging badly and killing my back. The memory foam only made it worse. It was definitely like trying to sleep on quicksand. I couldn't turn over or get out of the bed without it pulling my lower back out with the worst pain. Then I couldn't stand up straight. I went through it for three nights. And also found it was very hot, too. I tried putting blankets over it to stop from sinking, but it didn't help. Finally, I just pulled it off the bed because I was afraid I'd end up in the hospital from the back pain. I couldn't even give the topper away for free. No one wanted it because they had all done the same and hated the memory foam. I ended up going to the local cheap bedding store and buying the firmest cheap bed they had. And they were willing to take the topper for free since it was so new. The thing should come with a warning label or something, it's so awful. I couldn't even return the memory foam topper because I had bought it online and they wanted half what I spent to return it, plus I would have had to buy a huge box for it and it was so heavy I couldn't even bend it for a box. It was the worst purchase I've ever made. I literally threw the money away. This was my first and hopefully last experience with memory foam. Never again. Personally, I think memory foam should be banned from sale. I don't understand how anyone could like it. But for those of us who absolutely need a firm bed, it's a torture device from hell. Thanks for leaving this blog up, I hope it saves some others from going through all this.

I am glad im not the only one that has hatred towards memory foam,my mother in law purchased it a few years back hopeing it would help with her arthritis,it just caused back pain that wasn't there before,so she gave it to me and her son.i call it the quick sand bed also lol cause we both sink into a hole right in the middle,sweat all night and I wake up with my lower back killing me.i can't roll over or move to get out of the bed without cussing every night.Im 5 months pregnant and this thing is torture.Im now sharing a twin size bed with my 9 year old son,anything is better than this

My new supposedly extra firm mattress went soft my first week of purchase. And now it acts alot like the memory foam. I've been getting severe pain in my lower back and the backs of my legs. I have trouble getting out of this bed and it sleeps hot. This was an expensive Ashley extra firm and it's killing me. This mattress usually sells for close to two thousand dollars, but they gave me a sale price. I don't have money to get a different one now. They just don't make mattresses like they used to. At this point I'd be better off sleeping on a thin army style cot than this bed. The companies all play games if you try to return a mattress, and they just offer an exchange of the same bad one you have. I hope someone starts a class action lawsuit against the mattress industry. We are being sold faulty goods. And I have to take pain meds and muscle relaxants for breakfast because of it. I can't get over how my first two nights of sleep on it, it was perfect. After that, it just got softer and softer. Someone else who bought this one said the same. It's like buying a car that only works for two days and then goes bad. We need lemon laws for bad mattresses.

Hello, I purchased a Novoform mattess Topper from Costco yesterday. After resting on it for an hour, my foot began to feel numb. I couldn't figure out why? I got up and my leg on my left side, below my knee and left foot felt numb. Also my left forearm, hand and shoulder. I started looking up problems with memory foam and found similar complaints about tingling and numbness. I found one sight that mentioned that your circulation can be cut off at the shoulder blades if you are sleeping on your back,and that your pelvis may not be in the right position. Strange because it feels soft. My numbness continued for the rest of the night,after I got up off of the memory foam for an hour! It continued on until I went to sleep on our guest bed. I refuse to try it out again, I'm afraid to! Taking it back soon.

So glad I found this blog. I thought it was just me going crazy! I bought a memory foam mattress 2.5 years ago. I dread the very thought of going to bed every night. I rather sleep on the couch. I hate that I sink into it, it's so hard to roll over and just getting out of bed is a chore. Not to mention how bloody hot I get within minutes of getting into bed! I feel like a been run over by a truck each morning. Stiff ..sore...terrible shoulder and neck aches. I always slept on my right side but now force myself to lay flat out on my back. For the longest time I was blaming my pillow, I tried at least 4 different quality brand pillows so far and it still does not help. I started to complain to my hubby within a few months of this purchase but of course he looks at me like I have horns growing out of my head because he thinks it's an awesome mattress and he feels great when he gets up. So there ya go...suits some people and for others it is a torture chamber!

We bought a $1300 mattress with a memory foam topper. Mistake!! Our body imprints on other side look awful--like Psycho's mothers bed. When I try to turn toward the middle it's like rolling uphill. And hot. And uncomfortable. Memory foam doesn't "support" jack! It squashes flat!Grrrrr.

Reading all these past reviews feeling exactly the same way as everyone else. Have never liked memory foam. My mattress is pocket sprung, wouldn't buy anything else. I'm currently staying with relatives and have just got in bed to find it's a memory foam. Argh!! I am sinking as I write this. I have the mattress wrapping itself around my limbs and I feel trapped. It sucks any energy that springs give to help you manoeuvre yourself into different positions as its not good to stay in one position for too long. Who wants blood clots or aching joints! Plus, my body feels like an immense pressure is being put on it. Tbh, I'm starting to feel quite ill from the feeling. My children have spring mattresses and I can see myself climbing in with them. I have 3 more nights like this. Eek�� The bed looks lovely but is truly awful. God help my back in the morning. Is it me or is it getting warm in here! #banmemoryfoam ��

I had posted last year about a memory foam mattress from IKEA Cost Mesa in California, which I had driven all the way to Henderson in Nevada, only to drive it back to California, where -- fortunately-- IKEA did take it back. Meanwhile we have purchased two conventional spring mattresses from a conventional wholesales store (roughly $500 each) for our two homes and we could not be happier. The difference between the memory foam and spring are night and day. So, you are not alone, if you are shocked by how uncomfortable memory foam really is. It's not just in your mind, it's real!

Good question! We finished up with a deep pocket sprung mattress - quite a good one. It had been a display model, but it had been covered with plastic while on display, so we got it for a very good price. We use it on a firm wooden base. It has been excellent and at last I get a good night's sleep. Husband would still prefer the memory foam though. I also bought a soft 'topper'(but not memory foam!) and that seems to help.

The fact that the comments keep coming suggests that they still haven't really solved the problems. When we got our (lovely, comfy!) pocket sprung mattress as a replacement for the hated memory foam, I saw a married couple trying out memory foam in the store. The wife loved it. Her husband was saying that he hated it and that he would be crippled if he had to sleep on it for any length of time. She was trying to persuade him that he would get used to it. I took my courage in both hands, and said 'I'm sorry, but you won't. I never did!' I still wonder if he managed to resist!

unfortunate to see others suffering the same sleep torture due to these ever present foam mattresses.going to try a regular sprung mattress I have used my expansive foam mattress since my car accident in 2003 and put my continued back pain and numb back down to the accident until I spilled stuff on the mattress, I had to sleep on the floor for a while, this was better, much better.off gassing is a long term issue but become use to it like any smell, until you have a few days away from it comeback and it hits you.they also harden over time.

I too Hate this thing with a vengeance, why oh why do people spend good money on these, others resemble their mattress's as quicksand, mine feels like im laying on top of hard sandbags, just one lump after another, I cry out with pain everytime i turn in the night, I too am now suffering with a bad hip and groin, pain shooting down the front of my leg, I have suffered lower back pain for a while now, although it has got worse since this bed, but i never had the rest of these ailments before, and never thought it could be the bed which caused it, until i read some of the other comments! whoever invented these things needs to lay on mine for a week, and then recall every single one of them to a memory graveyard, a week on my bed will be torture for him. anybody want to swap haha

Being a 230lb 6 foot 2 inch man I can say that sleeping on a memory foam mattress is the WORST thing in the world. What did they make this thing out of razor blades and a punch in the face. Seriously the hardest thing is rolling over and trying to get comfortable all over again. My wife and I have had this god awful thing for over a year now. Finally the other day after only getting 2 and 1/2 hours sleep and waking up drenched in sweat I told her "that's it"! I can't do it anymore!!! That's another thing that most retailers / manufactures won't tell you, if you're a hot sleeper like me you'll take a wonderful sweat shower every night and wake up soaking wet. Also not to get to personal here but trying to be "intimate" is damn near impossible too! So if you want to kiss your sex life goodbye, have the worst neck and back pain, get no sleep, never be able to get comfortable, and wake up in a scuba suit of sweat the yes buy a memory foam mattress. SERIOUSLY THEY ARE THE WORST!!!

Why did I not see your blog before we bought this thing last week? Because I didn't look, that's why. What fresh hell is this memory foam thing? One of us is happy, one of us is not. I'll let you guess which one I am. There is nothing right about this. Advice/reviews on line include: if your back hurts, you need firmer; if your arms and legs are going numb, you need softer. Ok, wait. WHY ARE ANY OF THESE THINGS HAPPENING?? AND, WHAT IF BOTH OF THEM ARE HAPPENING??? Also, who the f*ck can survive getting 1-2 hours of sleep per night while waiting for the bed to adapt to them over 30-60 days?? How is this even a thing?? What other product would we wait to serve us this long before we returned it or set it on fire? When I first sat on the bed, I sunk into hot, squishy nastiness. My first thought, and I'm not kidding, was, 'Did I just poop my pants??' I should have just stopped there. But, on top of everything else about mattresses, anyone with a partner is somehow expected to be able to find ONE sleep surface that will serve them both well. Impossible. And memory foam is certainly not the answer.

You have my sympathy! As you can see, I wrote this a long time ago and since then, we've got rid of the damn thing and replaced it with some kind of sprung mattress. But it took years of misery for me. (We couldn't afford to replace it for quite a long time!) Eventually I took to sleeping in the spare room. Lots of good alternatives are available now - I've lost count of how many friends I've advised about this and the fact that people are still discovering this post after so long means that they are still being promoted. I still hate them!

About Me

I write well researched but readable historical and contemporary novels and some non-fiction. I live in a Scottish country cottage with my artist husband. I love gardening and I also collect the fascinating antique textiles that often find their way into my fiction. This blog is about all these things and more!